DECISION COP4/8 Environmental assessment/information system, monitoring and early warning Article 12 of the Carpathian Convention The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the Partnership Agreement between Carpathian Convention and the European Environment Agency (EEA) on the implementation of the Carpathian Convention;

2. Welcomes the Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP Vienna-ISCC and DaphneInstitute of Applied Ecology, European Academy of Bolzano, Slovak National Forest Centre, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, The Environmental Information Centre UNEP/GRID-Warsaw, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, for the Establishment of a Carpathian Integrated Biodiversity Information System;

3. Encourages the further development of an information system accessible to all Parties, gathering available data sets, information on local and regional administrations, outcomes of projects and other relevant data, to be harmonized with and integrated into existing information systems such as provided by the EEA and UNEP;

4. Encourages the Parties, Working Groups under the Carpathian Convention, the EEA and interested stakeholders to cooperate on the development of an information system supporting the implementation of the Carpathian Convention, and requests the Secretariat to prepare a background analytical document focusing on cost effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of such information system and its connection with existing systems and based on its outcomes to coordinate the process;

5. Invites the Parties to engage respective European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) Focal Points in the implementation of Article 12 of the Carpathian Convention;

6. Welcomes the Memorandum of Understanding between the Carpathian Convention and the Science for the Carpathians Initiative signed at the Forum Carpaticum 2012; Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians 10

7. Welcomes the outcomes of the Forum Carpaticum 2014: Local Responses to Global Challenges presented at the COP4, and requests the Secretariat to further develop the cooperation with the Science for the Carpathians initiative;